LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Paul Marshall will deliver Biola University’s spring 2016 commencement address on May 27. Marshall is the author of more than twenty books on religion and politics, including “Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians,” and “Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion.”

“Paul Marshall is one of the world’s leading scholars and advocates of religious freedom, not just for Christians but for all persecuted religious groups," said Biola President Barry H. Corey. "He has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and fight for the plight of persecuted religious groups all across the world, and I believe his message for Biola graduates will be timely and galvanizing."

Marshall, who is this year's recipient of the Biola University Charles W. Colson Conviction and Courage Award, will address more than 200 graduates and more than 700 undergraduates — the largest graduating class in Biola’s history — at the two ceremonies.

In addition to being part of Hudson Institute, Marshall is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Religion at Baylor University, Senior Fellow at the Leimena Institute, Jakarta, and Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Indonesia.

As the author of several hundred articles and writings that have been translated into multiple languages worldwide, Marshall is a well known voice in the conversation surrounding religious freedom. He has made interview appearances on ABC Evening News, CNN, PBS, Fox, the British, Australian, Canadian, South African, and Japanese Broadcasting Corporations, and Al Jazeera.

Thirty-six of the spring graduates will be inducted into Biola’s honor society, Epilson Kappa Epsilon, a prestigious award given to students who have excelled in academics and in community involvement during their time at Biola.  

This spring will also mark the first year that Biola will graduate students from its new Master of Professional Accounting Program. Kevin Vandekamp and Mayer Kim will both graduate this spring with a MPAcc degree, and have received outstanding job offers with major accounting firms.

Additionally, Biola’s applied psychology department will graduate its first two graduates since the program launched in 2014.

The ceremonies, held at 2 p.m. for graduate students and 7 p.m. for undergraduate students, will be streamed live online. Press passes are available upon request.

Written by Kathryn Toombs, Public Relations Intern. For more information, please contact Jenna Loumagne at (562) 777-4061, or by email at jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.